I had arrived in North Myrtle Beach on Thursday, and used the next two days to relax and rest up for the long (114 approx mile) paddle to Charleston SC scheduled for the upcoming week.  The weather channel suggested that the weather would be quite nice, sunny with a warming trend all week.  Friday morning, however, I awoke to another very painful first few steps out of the nice bed at the Courtyard Inn near Barefoot Landing.  The previous afternoon, I had walked in some pain (from my right hip) a mile back and forth to a nearby mall to purchase some things, and walked another half mile in the other direction to get some Advil, hoping that would make a difference.  I decided to rest Friday, thinking that the right hip would feel better, then go give Katie a polish on Saturday.  On that day, I walked back to the marina at the Landing, putting up with the soreness in the hip, and unlocked Katie from under the two ramps down to the floating dock where a number of boats were tied up.

I turned her over, and began washing off the tea colored mustash she had accumulated the week before.  As I reached the area behind the cockpit on the port (left) side, I saw to my surprise and dismay, a large web of more gelcoat cracks, with pieces sticking out from her surface.  While technically superficial, these cracks showed how this journey was taking a toll on Katie, and on me as well (hip, hand).  I did not want to have the cracks spead, so I thought I should go back to the hotel and get my leftover gelcoat repair kit and do what I could.  So I walked back to the room, got the kit, and returned, feeling so discouraged.  I had brought a small zip lock bag to allow the paste and hardener to set while sealed against the air, but it turned out to be a sloppy job. Fortunately, I had sanded the area prior to applying the repair, so at least it was a smoother surface.

As I waited for it to set, a older couple came over to talk to me about my journey.  Marty B. and his wife Aime L. were on the 49′ motor yacht Lady M., that was tied up at the same dock. They were on their way south to their home port of Stuart FL.  The pleasant conversation with them did little to relieve me of the gloom that I was experiencing.  After they left, I removed the covering to find that the repair had not fully hardened.  There was little I could do then, as it was getting towards 4 PM and I wanted to attend a Catholic Church service later that afternoon at 5 for which I had ordered a cab to take me the 8 miles north to the church in time.  By the time I arrived for the service, the hip was causing me a lot of pain.  Several times, when I tried to stand up from the pew seat, I could barely succeed.  Questions kept coming up in my mind – how am I going to be able to continue this journey if this pain does not subside?  I managed to get into the return cab, the sharp pains continuing in and out of the vehicle.  I got back in my room and into bed, hoping that things would get better in the morning.  The next day on the water would tell me a lot about whether I would be able to continue this journey.